Computing technology experiences constant changes. Efforts are ongoing to develop technology that faster and more efficient. One aspect area technology designed to aid computer users is to have more functions that the user can perform with visual aids. One such visual aid in the computing world is the graphical user interface (GUI). A graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer and computer-controlled devices which employ graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called “widgets”, along with text labels or text navigation to represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements.
In graphical computing, a desktop environment (DE, sometimes desktop manager) offers a graphical user interface (GUI) to the computer. A DE typically provides icons, windows, toolbars, folders, wallpapers, and abilities like drag and drop. As a whole, the particularities of design and function of a desktop environment endow it with a distinctive look and feel. The desktop environments for the popular proprietary operating systems Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X are, in their intended use, relatively unalterable. This imposes a consistent user experience. However, there are alternative themes and third-party software that can completely change both the appearance of common interface elements (such as windows, buttons and icons) and the interface model itself. In Windows, this is accomplished by replacing the default Explorer shell. On systems running the X Window System (typically Unix-like systems), the desktop environment is much more flexible. In this context, a DE typically consists of a window manager (such as Metacity or KWin), a file manager (such as Konqueror or Nautilus), a set of themes, and programs and libraries for managing the desktop. All of these individual modules can be exchanged and individually configured to achieve a unique combination, but most desktop environments provide a default configuration that requires minimal user input.
In GUI environments, the mouse, which controls a cursor illustrated on the computer screen, is the primary instrument used to manipulate icons and issue commands. In addition, files are handled basically with the use of a mouse, and almost all operations can be performed with the mouse. In an operating system based on a GUI environment, for example, in Windows (trademark of Microsoft Corporation, U.S.A., registered in the United States and other countries), file handling by means of drag-and-drop is available.
In GUI environments, a drag and drop procedure is often implemented to transfer a file to particular folder. A drag and drop operation might require using a mouse to navigate significant real estate across the display (or even multiple displays). For example, dragging an icon from the lower right corner to an upper left trashcan might require moving the mouse several inches. For a person with limited mobility, this might be challenging. The problem can be even more significant when multiple displays are used to create a larger extended desktop (more mouse pointer movement is required).
A selected file may be dragged and dropped onto an icon of a folder on the desktop or in a file tree. Also, dropping the selected file onto an icon representing a folder permits the dragged file to be copied/moved to that folder. Although this drag and drop technique simplifies the transfer of files, this technique also involves risks such as a user having to navigate passed various desktop icons or the user accidentally dropping or transferring the file to the wrong folder.
Other attempts have been made to improve GUI technology with regard to navigating through a desktop. U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,842, to Tahara et al, describes an invention which displays a GUI picture, including an icon/window and a pointer (cursor) of a mouse or the like in a display screen of a computer. The invention predicts an icon, which the user is selecting, based on the moving speed and the direction of movement of the pointer. It displays a tool tip or the like which indicate the function of the icon. This invention also predicts an operation which the user is effecting on the window based on the moving speed of the pointer and a distance between the pointer and a window, changes the display of the pointer from a conventional arrow head during the movement to a bidirectional arrow head appearing in changing the size of the window, for example, depending on the prediction, and further assists an operation to change the size of the window in response to clicking by the user.
U.S. Patent application 20040095390 to Andreas Arning et al, describes a method of performing a drag-and-drop operation of an object onto a container of a set of containers. The method comprises selecting the object, dragging and dropping of the selected object onto a first container of the set of containers and predicting a second container of the set of containers to which the object is assigned. If the second container is different from the first object, outputting of a warning signal.
Although some techniques exist related to predicting the selection of the icons on a desktop, there remains a need for a method and system that predicts the drop location of a file or icon during a dragging operation.